How I Know the Gorilla Incident Could Have Happened to Any Mom

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It happened to me last year. During a trip to the beach, my son Miles started playing with a dog that walked past us. I bent down to grab a toy while talking to the dog’s owner and suddenly saw Miles in the water with the dog, sinking fast. I managed to sprint to him and grab him before he went completely under, but had I been distracted any longer, I might not have seen him go under and would have lost him in the water.

He had never even attempted to go into the water unattended in the past, but he did something I never thought he would do—and he did it right in front of my eyes. I’m still haunted by what could have happened.

I’ve repeatedly seen this kind of thing go down. My then 3-year-old nephew once unbuckled his car seat, slipped out of the car, and started to run across a parking lot right in front of my sister because he wanted a toy in a store they had just left. I’ve also seen kids catapult themselves out of shopping carts and leap over fences in hot pursuit of various things. Kids do crazy things when they want something, whether it’s a dog, toy, or gorilla.

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Unfortunately, in Michelle’s case, it happened very, very publicly.

Could Michelle have been watching her son more closely? Of course. He managed to go under a rail, through wires, and over a moat wall in a short period of time, which is pretty damn impressive. No one is arguing that fact.

That said, little kids are fast and sneaky, and I’m willing to bet his mom didn’t think he’d be in a gorilla enclosure when she noticed he wasn’t right next to her.

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But parents are human, too. We make mistakes, and sometimes they can have serious consequences. Here’s the reality: It could have happened to anyone. And, if it hasn’t happened to you, something like it could happen in the future. It probably won’t involve a gorilla, but it could very likely be a dangerous situation.

Maybe people should keep that in mind before they rush to judge Michelle Gregg.